– PRESS RELEASE –

Hellenic Bankers Association – UK (HBA-UK) launches the 2020 HBA-UK Student Award for students from Greece and Cyprus who wish to pursue further studies or a career in the UK.

London, Tuesday, 11 February 2020: The Hellenic Bankers Association – UK (HBA-UK) launches the second consecutive HBA-UK Student Award for students who are currently studying in Greece or Cyprus and wish to pursue further studies or a career in the UK in a finance-related field.

The €1,000 award will be given annually to the student who produces the best piece of extended written work (in English) related to finance, as judged by an HBA-UK panel of academics and practitioners within the field of finance. Besides, this prestigious award will include mentoring and networking opportunities within the Hellenic community of the City of London.

The 2020 HBA-UK Student Award ceremony will take place in London on the 5^th of December 2020 at the Association’s Summer Ball. The winning student will have the opportunity to explain his/her work to the audience.

The Chairman of the Hellenic Bankers Association – UK (HBA-UK), Louis Loizou, stated that: “We are delighted to announce the second consecutive HBA-UK Student Award which we believe will help and recognise excelling students from Greece and Cyprus. It is a sign of commitment to the public benefit of our members and friends that we wish to thank the most and continue after the success of the first HBA-UK Student Award presented in our Association’s 25^th anniversary back in 2019”.

Participation Process: Post-secondary education college or university level students, in Greece or Cyprus, who are either currently studying or graduated since 2017 are eligible to participate. They should register their written work (between 1,000 to 3,000 words) in English; accompanied by their CV and cover letter at hba@hellenicbankers.org.uk no later than the 31^st of October 2020. The announcement of the winning student will be made by the end of May 2020 and the award ceremony will take place on the 5^th of December 2020 in London.

Participating students are invited to choose their own topic of interest. Emphasis will be placed on its innovative character and the out-of-the-box thinking. Our panel has chosen the themes that students may wish to consider as follows:

GenZ: Develop an integrated value proposition for financial services companies in Greece and/or Cyprus on which digital finance products and services should they offer; and/or which communication strategy should they adopt to appeal and capture the Gen-Z of consumers.
Fintech: Discuss key emerging technologies and practical ideas that financial services firms in Greece and/or Cyprus should embrace in becoming leaders in the new digital world. Potential trends to cover may be: bitcoin, blockchain, robo-advisors, mobile technologies etc.
Digitalisation: Evaluate how the disruptive force of digitalization is revolutionizing the Greek and/or Cypriot banking sector and how it will potentially affect the competitive landscape.
NPLs: Recommend and discuss strategies and/or policies to effectively tackle the NPLs problem in Greece and/or Cyprus.

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Note to Editors:

Hellenic Bankers Association – UK

Founded in 1994, the Hellenic Bankers Association UK (HBA-UK) is a non-profit think tank that promotes a closer cooperation amongst bankers, investors and other finance professionals based in the United Kingdom.

HBA-UK is involved in thought leadership activities by organising industry leading forums to debate innovative ideas. It promotes social responsibility via initiatives such as the HBA-UK student award and career development opportunities through panel discussions and networking banking events.

Currently, HBA-UK has approximately 500 active members in the City of London, a membership which has been the most pristine reflection of professionalism, model corporate citizenship and hard work ethics. The Association, which constitutes the most important communications and networking platform for the Greeks of the financial and banking sector in the financial capital of Europe, is seeking to actively participate in transnational economic and business activities and to be on the front line of the developments on issues related not only to the industry internationally but also to the Greek economy and entrepreneurship.

HBA-UK’s steady growth and successful activity showcases its pivotal role as an attracting point and interconnection carrier between the London financial centre and the Greek political, economic and business community. In recent years, the Association’s successful official events have hosted leading business, economic and political personalities from the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, Greece and Cyprus for matters mainly concerning the Greek and Cypriot economies.

Leading figures participating in the Association’s events include Messrs: Theodoros Skylakakis, Yannis Stournaras, Christos Megalou, Anastasia Sakellariou, Poul Thomsen, Kevin Featherstone, Sabina Dziurman, Constantinos Herodotou, Alon Anver, Averof Neofytou, Panicos Nicolaou, Evgenios Evgeniou, Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, George Papakonstantinou, George Alogoskoufis, Petros Doukas, Spyros Capralos, Philippos Kosteletos, Apostolos Tamvakakis, Takis Arapoglou, Nikos Christodoulakis and Stefanos Manos among others.

More information can be found in HBA-UK’s website at www.hellenicbankers.org.uk.